Monday, August 29, 2011

Pension Website

We get e-mail:

The CPLA and CPSA have joined together to create a web page and Facebook page dedicated to educating everyone, sworn and civilian, as to the truth regarding the pension fund legislation that we are facing in the upcoming months. At this juncture we are trying to organize a trip to Springfield during the Veto session in late October. We need to get the word out to all CPD and Suburban Officers and Civilians that the threat to our retirement earnings is very real. We don't care what bargaining organization you may belong to, we need to come together to protect our futures and our families' futures. Any help in spreading the message would be greatly appreciated. Please check out the websites.

The fall "Veto Session" is upon us and there's a lot of stuff out there that needs to be addressed. All of it will affect the way the legislature and other politicians approach negotiations and reform efforts in the very near future.

The historic, now boarded-up building that once housed the Chicago Defender newspaper is in foreclosure, and, as a result of that, five of the city’s struggling pension funds could end up losing $1 million.

A failed plan to rehabilitate the Art Deco/Moderne building was one of the deals put together by former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew, Robert G. Vanecko, and his politically connected partner, Allison S. Davis, in a start-up real estate investment company that five city pension funds hired in 2006 to manage $68 million in retirement money for teachers, police officers, CTA employees and other city workers.

You KNOW what is going to happen and you know it will end up being decided in the courts. At the very least they will raise the retirement age. When I came on the job in '68, the retirement age was 57. If you retired earlier, there was a 2 % penalty for each year less age 57. Expect changes.

Your already earned benefits are probably untouchable: the Illinois Constitution of 1970 says that. And if they try, remember that the question of whether they can do this would be before judges who have public pensions of their own. So don't worry about already earned benefits.

As for benefits to be earned in the future: yup, they're going to cosst more. Sorry. But what's the one single only alternative? Huge tax increases? Not good for anyone in the long run. Sorry.

The fact of the matter is that we public employees have had an awfully sweet deal for a long time. It had to end at some point. The new deal will be less attractive, but it's still better than 99% of workers get. So stop complaining. We've still got it pretty good.

Politicians are grabbing ANY monies they can get their Greedy, Incompetent hands on. Since the Baby-Boomers have actually WORKED all their lives and played by the rules, and have pensions or will soon retire, guess where the criminal policicians will do their best to steal money from? Right, you get the picture. Anyone who has something they worked for will have it taken away and given to a bunch of Welfare-Recipient, never worked DOGS. These Politicians CAN and WILL pick your life's savings to the BONE, if you keep Voting DEMOCRAT. Wise up people, it WILL be you next. Once the door is opened, it CAN'T be closed again, as the Boogy-Man is already in.

ask alderman burke,hes in charge of the budget committee.they appropiate the money but where does it go. the lawyer for the union should take them to court. i know , money for flowers on the roof,money for maggies special fund.

Where is Shields you ask 1:52? Check the golf course for the FOP golf outing. Heres the question you should be asking-is he flying in and covering the hotel expenses of other municipalities FOP reps like he did for this past trip to Utah? What did that cost of OUR dues $$$ Mikey. I hear over 100K. what exactly did that do for us huh???? Show us the books kid. ur a one term prez, just like the POTUS. another of Rahms puppets!!!

Good to know all the pension funds dealing with politicans are funded well. Even some of our wonderful union bosses were able to pad their city pensions while on leave working for the unions. The system is so corrupt it will eventually fall. This has been going on for years and will never end till the entire fund goes bankrupt. And that may not be too far off my friends.

Being as the state is all but bankrupt, and the City is in no better shape, it may be that the only alternative to some kind of serious public employee pension reform are to have fewer public employees.

The money just is not there for the very generous pensions that have been handed out to public employees over the years.

Hey! It's the crybaby who lost the last FOP election again. You or your guy LOST. No matter what you say, you loser, you can't change that. It gets mighty tiresome seeing you whining on here and trying to turn EVERY issue into a union issue and not giving anyone time to do the job they were elected to do.

Guys like you are THE PROBLEM. When we should ALL be unified, you're on here dividing.

or... maybe you're just a Rahm-boy stirring the pot and trying to keep Rahm out of our cross-hairs. After all, HE is the one who ran on a platform of going after our pensions, and some of you assholes voted for him anyway!

Reduction in pension benefits is on the agenda . Penalties for officers retiring before 60 will be a reality . Officers born after Jan 1, 1955 will not receive the 3 % cola , they will receive a reduced cola at age 60.

Allowing states and municipalities to go bankrupt has been rolling around D.C. lately. How nice. Go bankrupt and get rid of all your pension obligations and contracts. Only thing that might stop this is politicians would lose their ill gotten gains also.

u jackass bashing the shields team forgot that it was a split ticket - WITH MOST OF THE OLD REGIME STAYING IN THERE. only Mike and Danny Gorman won their spots, the rest are the losers that have been fucking us for 9 years+. we shoulda voted all new blood in. the guys left over from Donahoe's regime have all sold their souls and were told/paid off to NOT rock the boat. they are setting Shields up for the big fall. too bad it looks like he took the bait. i hope he's got sumthin up his sleeve, but he needs to launch all the fucks left over and bring in more of his people who are on the same page as him.

Being as the state is all but bankrupt, and the City is in no better shape, it may be that the only alternative to some kind of serious public employee pension reform are to have fewer public employees.

The money just is not there for the very generous pensions that have been handed out to public employees over the years.

The voters are starting to feel the pinch.

8/29/2011 03:24:00 PM

half a billion bucks a year skimmed into TIF's, and you think the money isn't there?

Your already earned benefits are probably untouchable: the Illinois Constitution of 1970 says that. And if they try, remember that the question of whether they can do this would be before judges who have public pensions of their own. So don't worry about already earned benefits.

As for benefits to be earned in the future: yup, they're going to cosst more. Sorry. But what's the one single only alternative? Huge tax increases? Not good for anyone in the long run. Sorry.

The fact of the matter is that we public employees have had an awfully sweet deal for a long time. It had to end at some point. The new deal will be less attractive, but it's still better than 99% of workers get. So stop complaining. We've still got it pretty good.

Thanks for visiting Rahm, now go away. Oh by the way you and you're fellow politician buddies have the sweetest deal of all and you're filthy rich to boot.

I voted for Shields but so far I'm unimpressed with him. He hasn't shown me much of anything and I'm starting to believe that I contributed to a big mistake. Hopefully we can correct it when the next election rolls around.

Hey asshat attacking the Shields team basher. Go to a meeting and get the facts straight. Mike Shields hand picked all the field reps in his office with the approval of the board. He even was allowed to bring in 2 people who lost the election. So shut the fuck up when you don't know what the fuck you're talking about hair gel. A veteran who knows, goes to meetings and only puts facts out there to educate bullshitters like you that just like read their own bullshit.

The Field Reps Mike picked (with the board's approval) were the SAME 2 guys he brought in - McCarthy & Del Rivero. Don't try to mislead by making it sound like anything more than it is. It's not like he replaced guys from the CIty Wide team with his own people - that is simply NOT the case. McCarthy & Del Rivero are there IN ADDITION to everyone else that won their spots fair and square.And as far as the term/title of "Field Rep", ANY ONE of the top elected positions (you DO know what those are, right? They're the 6 positions under Shields that, with the exception of the Treasurer, work out of the FOP offices) can be an acting Field Rep, like when they respond to shootings to represent the coppers involved.

For such a "knowledgeable" self-proclaimed "veteran who knows" ...YOU DON'T SEEM TO KNOW A FUCKING THING. Try to maybe stay awake at the FOP meetings from now on and maybe even take some notes to review at a later time before you come on the blog spouting your own interpretation of the facts, you fucking asshole.

You are WRONG on this. 100% WRONG. I hope your were never an FTO because you can single-handedly destroy this department with all the "knowledge" you possess.

Now go write an ANOV or 3 for the bosses that take advantage of you because youre sooo fucking dumb, YOU FUCKING HANDJOB.

- A Veteran Who Regularly Attends FOP Meetings and REALLY KNOWS What The Fuck Is Going On.

Pension requirements will change ,25 years to receive 50 % and 2 % for every year over 25 years .It's the only way to save the pension fund from going broke .

-------------------------------I don't think that existing employees would be able to be handled that way for various reasons such as IL constitutional requirements.

The only real long term answer is some kind of defined contribution type plan and making sure governments actually contribute their share. Public employees have traditionally been opposed to these type of plans because there is some risk that the fixed contributions won't cover the same level of benefits during retirement. Politicians do not like them because they have to fund them on an ongoing basis instead of playing games and letting them go unfunded for many years.

Despite knowing what a rat hole public employee pensions are at all levels of government, no one seems willing to actually deal with the problem.